🔗 Share this article

Tehran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington as long as it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy was effective, and disclosed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to resume negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Complex Path

The foreign minister is walking a complex path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more powerful militarily and mentally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium on home soil that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Earlier Negotiations Unexpectedly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that ended with Donald Trump asserting the facilities had been destroyed. Subsequently, European countries exercised their right to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Suggested

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was settled an local partnership with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could function on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iran's diplomats declared the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the offer could be resurrected in certain ways if talks restart.

The US president last week claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to resume discussions, but confidentially Tehran representatives say they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of passivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says negotiations is not part of a spectacle.

Diplomatic Standpoint

In his address to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of international law, Araghchi declared the 12-day war showed the conflict could not be settled by armed force. He said the strikes commenced with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with full US knowledge and collaboration, making trust hard to reestablish.

Dialogue Stays the Ultimate Answer

The foreign minister stated: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was the United States and the European states that had always tried to dictate their will during the talks. Negotiations can still be alive and remains the ultimate resolution to address disputes, but its requirements, guidelines and principles must be followed."

"In case they address to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and respect, they will obtain a answer in the same approach."

Restoration and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the struggle of recovery and reconstruction, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We acquired many lessons from this engagement; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He continued: "We managed to survive this war. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, remains in place. The sites and machinery, if damaged, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but were unable to break. The Iranian people have become stronger, more integrated, and more supportive of the administration and the country in the aftermath of this assault."